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Manny set to embark on rehab assignment

Manny set to embark on rehab assignment

LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez took batting practice and ran at 90 percent at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, his last step before a rehab assignment at Class A Inland Empire begins Wednesday.

Ramirez, on the DL three times this season, has been out for a month because of a strained right calf. The Dodgers didn't know until right before first pitch with the Rockies Tuesday night where Ramirez would end up doing his rehab, at Inland Empire or Triple-A Albuquerque. Inland Empire is home Tuesday through Friday, while Albuquerque is in Tacoma through Friday before returning home for a nearly two-week-long homestand.

Team trainer Stan Conte said it was possible Ramirez could spend some time with Albuquerque as well as Inland Empire, but that where Ramirez rehabs wasn't of much concern.

"From a medical standpoint it doesn't make any difference," Conte said. "He needs to run at high intensity, in game situations."

To reach those high-intensity moments, Ramirez will likely be playing more left field than DH while on assignment. Conte said the team might treat Ramirez more conservatively than if it were April, but said everything ultimately depends on how Ramirez says he feels.

"What we typically would do is do progression," Conte said. "He might play four or five innings, then six or seven innings."

Dodgers manager Joe Torre in the past has said he preferred Ramirez rehab at Triple-A, where the caliber of pitching is nearer to the big leagues, but he's also previously let the veteran decide where he'd be most comfortable playing.